Samaritan
by Christine Writer
Summary: After "Teach Me Tonight" but before "I Can't Get Started". Jess is in the hospital in New York. Christian Content.
1. Chapter 1

After "Teach Me Tonight", but before "I Can't Get Started." I own NOTHING!

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Jess Mariano had never been one to ask for help. He had never wanted it. He had forced others who had tried to help him out of the way, including Luke and Rory. He had gotten Rory hurt in the car accident, and now he was back where he had started. Now, as he lay broken and bleeding in a dark alley somewhere in New York City, he wished with all of his heart to be in Stars Hollow, where bad things never happened.

He was in this predicament because he had painted himself into a corner. He had run from Luke; from Rory, and now he had no one to call for help. Luke hadn't wanted him to stay after the accident, but Jess hadn't fought it, either.

He had mouthed off to the wrong person for what he now thought to be the last time. By morning, he wouldn't be around. Either he would bleed to death or he would freeze. Though it was March already, nights could still drop below freezing. Jess yelled for help, making all of the racket he could without further injuring himself. Finally, someone passing by on the street heard his pleas, and came into the alley. It was a tall, broad man who looked quite intimidating. He lifted Jess effortlessly, and carried him to the hospital that was only three blocks away, but which had been impossible for Jess to attempt. "I'm Joseph Samaritan." the man told him. "Just lie still."

"Thank you." Jess managed as they reached the emergency room and he was whisked away into triage. The hospital staff checked him for identification, and found his driver's license and Luke's phone number. They put in a call to Luke as Jess lay in the emergency room, grateful that Jospeh Samaritan had found him.

Luke reached the hospital in record time, and by the time he got there, Jess had been admitted with a slight concussion, one cracked rib, and a fractured right wrist, not to mention loss of blood from a cut down his arm. The cut had been stitched up, and looked like a snaking zipper up Jess's left arm. "Your nephew is a very lucky young man." the doctor overseeing Jess's care informed Luke. "A cut like that could have killed him. But he was brought in quickly, and it was shallow. It just needed some stitches to keep it together. There's no muscular damage, which there really should be."

"Thanks." Luke nodded. "Who brought him in? My sister doesn't know about this?"

"Jesse told me before he lost consciousness that a man by the name of Joseph Samaritan brought him in. Jesse was beaten pretty brutally, Mr. Danes. I can't pretend that this isn't serious. A seventeen-year-old should be in someone's care."

"There's a lot of circumstances that I could tell you, but it would require several days of your time." Luke said, frankly.

"It looks like he's waking up." the doctor motioned to the form lying in the hospital bed, and then he left the room quietly.

"Jess." Luke spoke the teen's name and Jess stirred, eyes opening slowly in confusion.

"Luke?" Jess tried to sit up, and gasped in pain as his injured ribs pushed together with the motion. Luke pressed him back into bed gently.

"Jess, what happened?"

"I crossed the wrong guy."

"Who, Jess?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does!" Luke exclaimed.

"No, it doesn't." Jess said flatly.

"Jess!"

"Fine." Jess spat vehemently. "It was Liz's boyfriend."

"What?" Luke was aghast.

"Liz's boyfriend." Jess repeated. "He thought I had mouthed off one too many times to him, we met on the street, he threw the first punch, knocked me into an alley, and it went from there. I defended myself and he pulled a knife. He...." Jess paused, embarrassed. "He held me down and sliced my arm open. I should've been able to get away, but my head was fuzzy from being knocked into the pavement."

"Liz...." Luke seethed. His sister sure knew how to pick vindictive, dangerous losers.

"Luke, please." Jess begged, his eyes filling with tears. "Don't. She's happy, he hasn't hit her, and I'm alive. Leave Liz alone, please?" Luke shook his head. Liz had a kid like Jess, who was willing to be beaten to death before she was unhappy. Why couldn't she appreciate him?

"Jess," he said quietly. "Liz has to know. Can I please tell her?"

"No!" Jess sat up again, wincing, but not allowing his injured body to impede his demand. "Do _not_ tell her. Just..." he lay back against the pillows cradling his head. "Let me get better. I'll come back to Stars Hollow with you. I'll do whatever you want me to. Just let Liz be happy."

"Jess, your mom cares about you. Deep down, she does."

"I know." Jess acknowledged.

"You really don't want me to tell her?"

"I just want you to take me home."

"Jess." So many emotions of Luke's were encompassed in his nephew's name.

"Take me home." Jess repeated stubbornly.

"You can't leave yet, Jess. You have to get stabilized first."

"I know." Jess nodded gingerly.

"Who brought you in?"

"A guy who found me. He didn't seem real. He said his name was Joseph Samaritan. He was huge."

"Okay. I'm going to see if I can track him down."

"Okay. And Luke?" Jess asked as Luke turned to leave. Luke paused.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No problem, Jess."


	2. Chapter 2

Luke got to a pay phone and diligently searched the phone books nearby it. He even called Information. Not one Joseph Samaritan. No one with the surname of Samaritan in the city. He went outside, into the bitter cold, and asked around with businesses and outreaches and shelters surrounding the hospital. No one had ever heard of Joseph Samaritan. It was almost as if...Luke dismissed the crazy thought. Of course Joseph Samaritan had been real. He had carried a seventeen-year-old boy three blocks through New York City to the hospital. He had been real.

Luke returned to the hospital. Jess was awaiting his news eagerly.

"Did you find him?" he asked.

"No." Luke shook his head. The thought couldn't be dislodged from his brain. "I couldn't find a trace of him. Not one shred of evidence that he lives here, or anything. It's like he doesn't...exist." he finished, looking to Jess.

"What if he doesn't?" Jess asked.

"What?"

"What if he doesn't exist?" Jess repeated.

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know." Jess admitted. "He didn't seem real. He carried me three blocks in below freezing weather with snow on the ground. I weigh one hundred forty pounds, Luke. He lifted me like I weighed a single ounce. Could you do that?"

"No, but you don't see me pumping iron. Jess, this is crazy!"

"Maybe so." Jess acknowledged.

"I'll be right back." Luke exited. He went down to the emergency room and asked the staff if they had seen the man who had brought Jess in. Fortunately, one nurse had been there for Jess's admittance.

"I saw him." she nodded. "He was tall, and it seemed like your nephew didn't weigh a thing in his arms." she remembered something more. "It was the strangest thing--he walked out of the automatic doors over there," she gestured, "and when they closed behind him, it looked like he had disappeared."

Luke's heart stumbled over her statement. It wasn't possible, he reasoned. "Do you have a chapel here?"

"Of course." she gave him directions and he went up immediately.

Upon reaching the chapel, Luke asked himself what he was looking for. To see if Joseph Samaritan was there? He wasn't, but the chaplain was. He greeted Luke quietly, and asked what he could do for him. "This will sound crazy," Luke said, "but I think my nephew was rescued by an angel."

"Ah." the chaplain nodded as if it were a natural occurrence. "Why don't we sit down?" They sat in an empty pew. "Why do you think it's crazy? Stranger things have happened, haven't they?"

"I guess, but I thought it was just stuff that Christians made up to make themselves sound better."

"Well, Mr...." the chaplain faltered.

"Luke Danes."

"Mr. Danes, I'm Pastor Steven." the chaplain introduced himself.

"Hi."

"Hi. Now, why do you think it's impossible that an angel rescued your nephew?"

"I don't know. Why would an angel give him a first and last name if he wasn't going to stick around and exist?"

"Maybe to prove that he didn't exist. What name did he give?"

"What does that matter?"

"What did he call himself?"

"Joseph Samaritan." Luke supplied the name that was now branded into his memory forever.

"Interesting." Pastor Steven nodded. "Mr. Danes, have you ever heard of the story of the Good Samaritan?" Luke shook his head. "It's a parable from the Bible, in the New Testament. Luke 10:30-37 describes it better than I can explain it." He opened a well-worn Bible that had been next to him on the pew. "Here. 'Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain _man_ went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded _him,_ and departed, leaving _him_ half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to _him_ and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave _them_ to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' '' The priest did not take care of the man, nor did the Levite. The Levites were part of the Israelites, and were holy men of God. Neither holy man took care of him; their semantics and principles got in the way. However, the Samaritan, a half-Jew--despised by Israelites--not only rescued him, but went the extra mile to make sure he was okay."

"So you think Jess got a good Samaritan?"

"I do." Pastor Steven nodded.

"So the Bible's true?"

"Yes."

"Wow." Luke thought about what had just happened. He felt something stirring inside him. Ususally, he felt normal, and very Luke-like. Brusque, thorny, and such. He felt lighthearted and changed now.

"We have to go tell Jess about this." Luke decided.

After explaining the story of the good Samaritan to Jess, Pastor Steven stayed in Jess's room with him and Luke. He answered their questions for two hours, and then they both committed their hearts and lives to Jesus. Luke immediately called Lorelai.


	3. Chapter 3

Lorelai answered sleepily and tried to focus on her clock. It was well past midnight, and she had just fallen asleep. "Hello?"

"Hey. It's Luke. Don't hang up."

"Why not?" she was wide awake now. Lorelai couldn't believe Luke would call her after their screaming match two weeks earlier. She hadn't seen him during that time. She and Rory had been going to Weston's and KC's instead of the diner.

"This will sound insane, but you and Rory need to come to New York."

"It's past midnight, Luke. What on earth..." the pieces fell into place. "No. Absolutely not.

Not Jess."

"Lorelai, it's way too much to explain over the phone. Please come? I would come to you, but I can't. Jess is stuck here for at least the night."

Lorelai could now hear the background noise because of the silence over the line. "Luke, where are you?"

Luke provided her the name of the hospital and the location. She scribbled it on her wrist with a pen and shrugged on a coat and an extra layer of sweatpants. She promised Luke that she and Rory would be there as soon as possible.

She flipped on the light switch in Rory's room. Rory woke after a moment to Lorelai digging through the closet for a sweater for Rory to wear under her coat. "Mom, what are you doing?" Rory asked.

"You and I are headed to New York." Lorelai said, very matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"Jess is in the hospital. Luke asked us to come."

"Oh." Rory was wide awake now, and dressed quickly.

The drive to New York was quiet. When they had reached the city, Lorelai ventured, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Rory answered.

"Rory, you don't have to see him. I'll go, and you can wait in the lobby or something."

"I want to see him."

"Okay." Lorelai said. "If you change your mind, it's okay."

Rory cradled her plastered wrist in her lap, contemplative. "No, it's okay. I need to see

him."

They reached the hospital, located Jess's room, and knocked on the door. "Come in." they heard Luke say. They entered, and Rory was unprepared for the sight of Jess.

He was asleep in the bed. Jess's usually well gelled curls were limp and spilled over his forehead. He had a black eye and a cast on his wrist. What shocked Rory to the core, however, were the stitches up his arm. Clearly, whatever had happened to him was deliberate. "Jess." she spoke his name and he stirred. She held back the gasp at her throat. He looked so tiny and helpless. He opened his eyes, and her heart melted.

"Rory." he smiled thinly.

"What happened?" she asked, oblivious that Luke and Lorelai were still in the room. He shook his head. He wasn't going to tell her. "Please, Jess. Tell me." she whispered. She pulled a chair up to the bed and settled into it. She reached across the bed and gently pushed his curls into their rightful place.

"It's not important right now." he replied. "I want to talk with you about something else. Your mom needs to hear this, too."

"Okay." Rory conceded. If Jess wanted to talk about something else, they would do so. She called Lorelai over and both Lorelai and Luke pulled chairs up around the bed.

"I wanted to start by saying I'm sorry." Jess began. "It was wrong of me to mess with you like I did; messing with Dean like that. I found your bracelet, Rory. On the bridge, after the basket festival. I kept it for a couple of weeks, and I'm sorry I didn't say anything sooner."

"You're forgiven." Rory decided. "I shouldn't have flipped out about it like I did."

"And Lorelai, I'm sorry for causing trouble around town, especially for yelling at you on your porch that night. You were trying to help me, and I couldn't have been a bigger jerk."

"I forgive you." Lorelai said, surprised at her own words.

"Now, I want to share something with you that happened only a few hours ago." Jess said. He proceeded to explain salvation and everything Pastor Steven said, including the part about the angel rescuing him.

For some reason, everything Jess was saying made sense to the Gilmore Girls. They had always ridiculed Christianity, and never understood it. Now, it was like they could see an entirely different side of things. Christianity had always seemed judgemental, but Jess helped Rory and Lorelai see the loving side of God, too. They thought for a while, and Rory insisted on making one of her lists, but in the end they both confessed their sins to God and became daughters of the King.

"I'm so happy for you." Jess was practically speechless. God was already working so much in his life!

"Thanks, Jess." Rory leaned over him and hugged him gently. "Can we talk now about why you're here in the first place?" she leaned toward Jess as Lorelai and Luke left to search for caffeine.

"Rory." Jess said softly. "My mother makes choices. They may not be good ones, but they are the ones she makes. She has probably moved on, and no one will be able to find the guy who did this. I'm coming home to Stars Hollow with you guys, and I'll talk to my mom about this in the morning. I'm also going to tell her about what happened tonight. She needs to know the truth, too." Jess concluded. Rory realized that his mother's boyfriend had done this to him, and she also realized that that was all she needed to know.

"I'll be praying for your mom." she told him. "Now sleep." she rose from the chair.

"Rory?" his quiet voice stopped her for a moment.

"Yeah?" she paused.

"Thanks. For everything you tried to do."

"No problem." she smiled.


End file.
